Refrigeration apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. F. WILD REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 25. 1941 April 27, 1943.

April 27, 1943. A. F. wlLD REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 23, 1941` l .wnnnnn Inventor. Y Albert Ef Wild, bya/wyfmm His Attorney.

' tus land more nets of the domestictype.

vIn household refrigerators,- receptacles have been provided forthe storage of butter and the' Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNITED STATES PATEIW ojFrlc-E lAlberi; F. Wild,-

Erie, Pa.,y assigner to Generalv Electric Company, a corporation ofi-NewYork v Application August 23, 1941,v Serial No. 408,010 n '6 Claims.

My invention relates 4to krefrigeration apparaparticularly to refrigerator cabilike at temperatures above that generally prevailingin the refrigerated compartment of the cabinet in order to maintain the butter or the like at a consistency which. will enable it easily to be spread. It isr'an object of my invention to provide new and improved ing such a receptacle at a suitable temperature above that generally prevailing in the. storage compartment; l

Electrical devices A of various types have been used in 'refrigerator cabinets as, for example.- circulating means such as fans for circulating box "air'through airpuriflers or lters. It is another object of vmy invention to utilize the heat developed by .theelec'tric current iiowing in such deditioner or the like at a temperature above that generally prevailing in the refrigerated comtion will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty means for maintain- (ci. azi-89) but be imparted 'to the Aducting' liner generally prevailingiri thestorage space II 'usually lower than the Y ing exteriorly of the' cabinet, I have provided a receptacle or compartment I4 havingsuitable thermally insulated walls. The receptacle isprovided with means for conducting heatthereto, as hereinafter described, in orderthat heat-may interior. of the receptacle.` comprises an inner heat con- I5 `and anA outer liner or shell I6 spaced relationship, `with respect that 'Ihe receptacle I4 maintained in `to the inner liner, thereby providing a layer of relatively dead air between the liners,

providedy a suitably hinged door or closurevmember I'I for closingthe opening in the` front wall of the receptacle. The particular wallfconst'ruction shown herein is not my invention but is `the invention of LaMar S. Cooper andl isv described and claimed in his copending application Serial vicesl to maintain theinterior of the butter conwhich oharacterize'my invention will be pointed Vout with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of, my invention reference may be hadto the accompanyingdrawings 'in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational, partial,

Vview of a refrigerator cabinet embodying my. in,-

vention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional-view of the foodstorage receptacle shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top view, partly broken away, of the receptacle shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 isl a vbottom view of the storage receptacle shown in Figs. l to 3, inclusive; Flg.*5 is av partial view, partly in section, of a receptacle such as that shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, illustrating a second embodiment 'of my invention; and Fig. 6 illustrates an electric circuit'for the operation of the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Fig. .5. I'

There is illustrated in the drawing va refrigerator cabinet I0 oi the domestic type havingsuitable heat insulatedlwalls defining a food storage compartment Il arrangedto be cooled by a suitable cooling unit or refrigerant evaporator I 2 preferably disposed in the upper portion ofthe compartment I-I. A suitable heat insulated door I3 is provided for closing an `access, opening to theinterlor of the cabinet I0. In ordervto maintain butter andthe lil-re at a temperature above No. 386,947, filed April 4, i941, and assigned to the same assignee as the presentvinvention.

Suitable' means the Walls of the refrigerator cabinet; Inasmuch as the details of the supporting means illustrated in the drawings described and claimed in his copending application Serial No. 400,189, filed June 28 1941; and assigned to the same assignee as my present invention, the details thereof will not be described.

It has been proposed to provide refrigerator cabinets with air purifying units yor deodorizlng units so that air circulated into association purifying substanceor material I9, `such as particles of activated carbon, for example. In order to cause the box air to circulate into association with the particles sov that odors and other impurities in the circulating air may be removed thereby. I have provided a fan 20 suitabiy disthe purpose .Lof drawing 22 and discharging it into purifier I8 fromwhence it will be air as through an inlet the casing or temperature prevaily has been `provided for sup- `vportingthe compartment or receptacle I4 from discharged through the` spaces betweenvthe par ticles I9. Asis well VunderstoodJzheiengagement any particular situation. In order to impart rotary motion to the fan device., I have provided an electric device in the form of a motor 23. Any. suitable electric circuit may be provided lfor conducting electric power to the motor. For example, I may provide leads 24 and 25 terminating in suitable plug type terminals, as indicated by the numerals 26 and 21, respectively, as best seen in Fig. 3, for completing an electric circuit to suitable supply lines. y

Means isV provided for applying heat to the interior of the receptacle. motor 23 is mounted in thermally conductive re- To this end,- thev 2,317,840 Y y .f

witch a1, shown in block form inrig. 5.1mm-

prises a movable contact 38 carried.: on thevfree end of a blmetallic element -33 which is'secured at the other-end thereof to a fixed support 40.

lationship with the inner shell I of the receptacle as by means of one or more suitable brackets 28 of heat conductive material and disposed in thermal relationship with the motor and the inner shell. Thus, it will be apparent that electrical energy dissipated in the motor will be conducted to the receptacle in theform of heat. The foregoing means for supplying heat to the inner shell I5 is not part oi' my invention but is the invention of Carl F. Scott and is described and claimedin his copending application Serial jNo; 408,009, filed August 23, 1941, and assigned to thesame assignee as my present invention.

I have provided means for regulating the ternperature within the compartment defined by the liner I5. In'V the form of my invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3, there is provided an arrangement for permitting, in selected amounts, the circulation of relatively cool box air into heat exchanger relationship with the inner liner I5. There is provideda damper 30 having a plurality of openings 3| and closed portions k32. arranged to cooperate withopenings 33 in the outer liner I6. The4 position of the damper will, of course, determine the amount of communication between `the interior and exterior of the outer liner I6.

I have illustrated automatic means for determining the position 'of the damper. In the form illustrated in the drawings, the means takes the form of a coiled bimetallic strip 35 suitably secured at one end as to end of a shaft 35a extending through the damper and the .outer shell, the means 35a thereby providing a supportnot only for the thermostat but also a pivotal support for the damper 3|. The free end of the thermostatic element is associated with the damper as, for example, being inserted between a pair of laterally extending members 36, the members being secured atone end to the damper. With this arrangement the damper will be operated responsive'to the temperature of the air contained between the liners I5 and I6. Thus, at a predetermined temperature the damper will be in a closed position but las the temperature of the air between the liners becomesy too warm, under which vconditions the butter would become too soft, the

thermostatic strip will -begin to1 unwind, thereby gradually enlarging the opening to the mainv food storage compartment II and therefore permitting circulationof relatively greater amounts exchange relationship with 'I'he contact 38 is arranged in operative'rela- `tionship with an adjustable stationary contact 4u adjustmentlbeing had byga suitable adjustmgv device. such as a knob 42 attached-tothe outer end of an operating rod-43 extending into operative relation with the adjustable contact 4I. In this form of my invention the motor 23 Voperates whenever the electric circuit is complete `cient-heat to maintain the butter at the proper consistency. Insome circumstances,.the amount of heat obtained from the motor will be insufflcient to maintain the butter in the receptacle at the desired consistency. For these situations l.' have provided an additional auxiliary heater element 44 suitably maintained in thermal engagement with the inner liner I5,` as bymeans of a suitable clip 45. As seen in Fig. 6, the heater 44 and the thermostat 31 are connected across the line, that is, in parallel with 'the motor 23. When the temperature of the blmetallic element is above a predetermined temperature, the Icontacts are retained in the open position and the circuit to the heater is broken, in which condition the only heat supplied to thebutter conn ditioner is that developed in the motor 23. However, when the temperature of theV bimetallic element is below a predeterminedtemperature, the contacts are moved to the closed position and the branch circuit to theheater 44 is completed, the heat therefrom supplementing the. heat .of the motor. Thus, the thermostatic switch opens and closes the circuit to the heater 44 as the temperature within the receptacle rises above and falls belowfa predetermined vaiue.

I have illustrated'in Figs. 2 and 3, a suitable terminal block 46 to which power from an external circuit may be-ccnducted and which is provided With suitable terminal elements for association with theplugs 26 and.21.f For purposes of illustration in Fig. 6, power is conducted to the refrigerator over suitable lines 41, the lines 41 being connected tothe motor device 23 by means of conductors 48 andy 49. i .y

rAlthough I havershown a particularembodiment of my invention, modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. For instance, other sources of heat may be disposed within the refrigerated compartment and may be utilized for conducting heat to receptacle. Moreover, other electrical devices which provide 'heat resulting from operation thereof maybe employed for the purposes of my invention instead of the air purifying unit I8. Further, the temperatureneed not be automatically adjusted but'manual means may be provided in` order toA permit selective adjustment of the temperature. Accordingly, Ido not desire my invention to be limited to the particular embodiment of my invention rdescribed herein but I intend in the4 appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention. V

What I claim as new and desire yto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is: i

1. In a refrigerator cabinet having a food storage compartment, means forl providing refrigeration in said compartment, afood storage receptacle within said compartment, an "electrical device in said compartment, means for conducting the heat incidentally resulting from the operation of said electric device to said receptacle. and means for adiustably providing for the circulation of relatively cool box air into heat exchange relationship with said receptacle.

2. In a refrigerator cabinet having a refrigerated compartment, a refrigerating system for cooling said compartment and a food storage receptacle in said compartment, an electric device disposed in said ccmpartmenmmeans associated with said receptacle for conducting heat incidentally resulting from the operation of said.

electric device to said receptacle, shielding means substantially enclosing said receptacle for normally maintaining cooled box air out of thermal association `with said receptacle, and means associated with said shield for admitting such air into thermal association with said receptacle.

3. In a refrigerator cabinet having a refrigerated compartment, refrigerant circulating means for cooling said compartment, and a food storage receptacle in said compartment, an electric device disposed in said compartment, means associated with said receptacle for conducting heat incidentally resulting from the operation of said device to said receptacle, shielding means substantially enclosing said receptacle for rior-` mally keeping cool box air out of thermal'association with said receptacle, said shield having an opening therein, closure means for said opening, said closure means being adjustable for controlling the amount of relatively cool box air passing through said opening into heat exchange relationship with said receptacle.

4. In a refrigerator cabinet having a refrigerated compartment, refrigerant circulating means for cooling said compartment, and a food storage receptacle in said compartment, means associated with said receptacle for conducting heat thereto, shielding means substantially enclosing said receptacle for normally keeping cool box air lout of thermal association with said receptacle. said shield having an opening therein, closure means for .said opening, said closure means being adjustable, and means associatedA I with said closure means and operable according to the temperature of the receptacle for controlling the amount of relatively cool air passing through said opening intov heat exchange relation with said receptacle.

l f 5. In a refrigerator cabinet having a refrigerpartment, an electric circuit for said device, an A i y additionalsource of heat comprising electric heating means associated with said circuit and disposed in thermal relationship with said receptacle, and means dependent upon the temperature of said receptacle for connecting said additional source of heat to said circuit.

ated compartment and a storage receptacle for butter and the like, an electric device mounted in thermal association with vsaid receptacle so that the heat resulting from the operation of said device is utilized normally to maintain said receptacle above the temperature prevailing in said storage compartment, an electric circuit for said device, an auxiliary source of heat comprising an electic heater adapted to be connected in said circuit, and thermostatic means responsive to the temperature yof said receptacle for connecting said auxiliary source of heat in said lcircuit under conditions such that the heat supplied by said electric device is insuicient to maintain said receptacle at the desired temperature.

ALBERT F. WTLD.

6. In a refrigerator cabinet having a refrigery, 

